Change in circumstance

If you receive Housing Benefit or Council Tax reduction and your circumstances change, you must inform us. If you don't tell us about a change, and we pay you too much, you will have to pay it back.

Report a change in circumstances
If you deliberately do not tell us about a change which leads to an overpayment, we will consider either a financial penalty or court action for fraud.

Not telling us about a change may also lead to you being underpaid

You must tell us about the following changes:​​​​​​

Changes to the money you get

Tell us if:

  • The money you, your partner or anyone else living with you receives goes up or down. i.e. other Benefits, maintenance or earnings. This includes increases as a result of overtime, back pay and second part-time jobs.

Changes in your home

Tell us if:

  • you change your address
  • the number of people in your home changes - for example, someone has a baby, someone comes to live with you, someone moves out or dies

Other changes

Tell us if:

  • your savings or capital change
  • your rent or Council Tax go up or down

When to tell us

You have one month to tell us about changes. If you are unsure about whether you should be reporting something, please contact us. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

If you fail to report the change within one month and the change increases your Benefit, we will only be able to pay you the extra from the Monday after the date you tell us. If the change would reduce your Benefit, we will go back to the date of the change, regardless of how long ago it happened. 

Report your changes to us on time. It will prevent overpayments and enables us to make sure you are receiving the amount of Benefit you are entitled to